A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad

The Canada Institute and the Division of United States Studies at the Woodrow Wilson Center are pleased to invite you to

The Black Canadian Experience:
From the Underground Railroad to Black Canadian Studies Today
A Black Canadian Studies Events Series

This year marks the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade. February 2007 is Black History Month in Canada and in the United States. And on February 16, Her Excellency the Right Honorable Michaëlle Jean, Governor General of Canada (born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti), presided over a ceremony marking the 60th anniversary of Canadian Citizenship. This year is also the 25th anniversary of Canada's Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

In this context, the Canada Institute is pleased to present
The Black Canadian Experience:
From the Underground Railroad to Black Canadian Studies Today,
a series of three events to be held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

Part One: Book Launch
Thursday, March 1, 2007, from 4:00 p.m. - 5:30 p.m .
Moynihan Board Room, 6th Floor

I've Got A Home in Glory Land: A Lost Tale of the Underground Railroad
by Karolyn Smardz Frost, Executive Director, Ontario Historical Society, Toronto

Comments by:
E. Ethelbert Miller , Director, African American Resource Center, Howard University

Harvey Amani Whitfield , Assistant Professor of History, University of Vermont

Co-sponsored by the Wilson Center's Division of United States Studies, the African American Studies Department at the University of Maryland, and the African American Resource Center at Howard University.

Part Two: Seminar
Friday, March 2, 2007, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Fifth Floor Conference Room

From the Underground Railroad to Black Canadian Studies Today
Black Canadian Studies is the exploration of the range of theories, experiences, contributions, perceptions, feelings, convictions, triumphs, and obstacles awaiting to be overcome of identified Black people of African descent resident in Canada. Black Canadian Studies revolves around the agency of Black people as the subject of investigation. Their stories, their interpretations, their pride, their independence, their self determination, their challenges, their triumphs, their shortfalls and sense of freedom and justice are at the forefront of investigation.

9:00am Welcome
David Biette , Director, Canada Institute
Peter Hanes , National Park Service (moderator)

9:10am Panel One
"The Abolition of Slavery in the Western Hemisphere"
C.R. Gibbs, Historian of the African Diaspora

"A City in the Promised Land: African Canadians and African Americans in Antebellum Toronto"
Karolyn Smardz Frost , Executive Director, Ontario Historical Society

Question and Answer Period

10:15-10:30 Break

10:30-11:45 Panel Two
"From Actor to Activist"
Anthony Sherwood, actor, director, film maker
African-Canadian performer and artist, Sherwood will discuss his journey from performer to activist and his upcoming documentary commemorating the 100th anniversary of the oldest black church in the Province of Quebec.

"Black Canadian Studies: The Politics of Inclusion: Engagement on Whose Terms?"
David Divine , James R. Johnston Chair in Black Canadian Studies, Dalhousie University

Question and Answer Period

12:00 p.m. Program Concludes

Part Three: Films
Friday, March 2, 2007, from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Woodrow Wilson Theater (Ground Floor)

2:00 p.m. Introductions
David Biette, Director, Canada Institute
Peter Hanes, National Park Service (moderator)

2:15 p.m. Freedom's Land: Canada and the Underground Railroad (52 minutes)
Anthony Sherwood , Filmmaker, Moderator and Discussant

3:15 p.m. Preview of Black, Copper & Bright: The District of Columbia's Black Civil War (13 minutes)
C.R. Gibbs , Historian/Writer, Moderator and Discussant

3:30 p.m. Honour Before Glory (Canada's Only All Black Battalion during World War I) (66 minutes)
Anthony Sherwood , Filmmaker, Moderator and Discussant

4:45 p.m. Concluding Remarks

To attend the Thursday session, rsvp to:http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1427&fuseaction=topics.event_rsvp&event_id=218689

To attend on Friday, RSVP your name, title, and affiliation toCanada@WilsonCenter.org

Please allow time on arrival at the Center for routine security procedures. A photo ID is required.

Location: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars One Woodrow Wilson Plaza, 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue NW (Federal Triangle Metro Stop on the Blue/Orange Line).

Map to the Wilson Center:http://www.wilsoncenter.org/